My Partner's Hand
by crocious
Summary: The sequel to My Partner's Heart. Read of it. Hate of me. Two weeks after promising to make Bruce Wayne fall in love with him, Clark Kent finally gets his chance: their first date! But it won't be as easy as he'd hoped- aside from Bruce Wayne's particularity, those shadows following them all night might turn out to be a problem...
1. Chapter 1

**I hate myself. One minute you're reading Wonderella's Twitter and thinking, haha, yeah, those losers are just swimming in sexual tension. Then you're searching for lighthearted fics to that effect and not finding any, but stumbling upon the SIT! doujin. I don't even now what bara IS,** ** _no_** **one does! I never asked for this.** ** _I never asked for this._**

 **-Cro**

"Superman!"

Without even looking, Superman grabbed the hostile android Wonder Woman threw at him and smashed it into the ground. Surrounding him and Diana, and quickly advancing, was an army of black and silver automatons with guns firing so mercilessly and so blindly that some in the back blew off the heads of some directly ahead of them. Though Dr. Light hadn't seemed to put a lot of time into the robots themselves, his machine printed them as quickly as the Justice League disposed of them

"This is getting us nowhere!" Wonder Woman shouted over her shoulder as she deflected bullets with her bracers. "Where's that sonar?"

"Batman, where's air support?"

Over the team com came Batman's crackling voice. "I was just about to ask you the same thing. I've got hostiles on my six."

"Go!" the Amazon barked as she knocked the cheap heads off six androids with another's leg in one swing, and without a second of hesitation Superman leapt into the air and smashed through two flying androids tailing the Batplane, ripping the heads off the other two without blinking. Far down below, a streak of red blazed through Dr. Light's robot army, leaving a trail of vaguely electrical looking parts, and green blocks filled in artificial wormholes as fast as they ripped through the air.

Superman knocked on Batman's window. "Now's good," he yelled, into the team com. Hawk Girl smashed an android right before it flew into the Batplane's path.

"Not yet!" Batman yelled back.

"Batman," Flash cried through the com, "What the ding dang DARN is taking so long?"

"I need a clear line," Batman said through gritted teeth. "These androids are automatomic, taking out Light won't stop them from hurting civilians! I need a straight line through them to the computer!"

Superman nodded. "Flash, we're at your ei-sev-twel-FLASH!"

"I found a shiny!"

"Flash, we're above the park! We're making a column of androids for Batman to blow through, take the left!"

The red streak flew to the outlying robots, herding them inward and Superman followed suit at the right.

Soon, the androids stood in a column twenty feet wide straight from the Batplane to Dr. Light's and his computers.

"On my mark!" Batman shouted.

"Ready, Bats!" Flash yelled gleefully as he dodged a barrage of bullets and dismantled the offender's wrist gun faster than anyone but Superman could see.

"Three! Two!"

Soft green earmuffs covered the Justice League's heads as Superman and Flash leapt out of the way of the screeching sonic attack from the Batplane, cracking right through the androids and exploding Light's computers and his printer.

When the noise died down and Hal dissolved the earmuffs with a snap of his fingers, Dr. Arthur Light was lying unconscious in a bed of electrical parts on the steps of City Hall. Every window in the building had burst, but Aqua Man had evacuated everyone and the building _was_ still standing, so the Mayor couldn't be _too_ upset.

Superman turned on his team speak. "Roll call. S."

"W!"

"H."

"F!"

"G!"

"B."

"I'm at the Watch Tower, awaiting your return."

"And there's J'onn. Lantern, did you find Aqua Man in any of the wormholes?"

He flew out of thin air as the last wormhole closed, almost on his foot. "Got him!" Hal cried, indicating the dust-covered blond man he was carrying.

Aqua Man coughed a handful of sand. "I am _sick_ of that universe!" he wheezed. Hal set him down gently.

"Well, hopefully you won't ever have to visit again," Wonder Woman said, patting Aqua Man on the shoulder. "All that's missing is the handcuffs."

On cue, a legion of squad cars rolled up, with the police chief at the head.

"Wow," she exclaimed as she jumped out of the car. "Justice League, I don't know how to thank you!"

As Wonder Woman happily gave Chief Willard the "Just doing our job" spiel, Superman made his way to the landing Batplane.

"Great job up there," he grinned. "You prevented a lot of civilian casualties. Come on, let's let Detroit thank you."

"Flash seems to have it covered." To Wonder Woman's protests, and attempts to put him in a headlock, Flash was bouncing around Chief Willard, asking for gratitude in the form of chocolate and monuments and getting to meet Stevie Wonder.

"You like Stevie Wonder?" Hawk Girl asked a little bewildered.

"Oh, Hawk Girl!" he grinned, "Are you a…" he looked between Wonder Woman and Hawk Girl eagerly, "a Wonder Woman?"

Cries of horror erupted from the gathered League and Flash cackled with glee at the stupid, stupid joke.

"Ha," Superman grinned. "I guess so!"

Batman grunted in assent.

They stood in silence together for a few minutes. Superman was about to pull Batman into the ruckus with the laughing police officers, but as he reached for his arm, Batman cleared his throat.

"What are you doing tonight, Clark?"

Superman looked around to make sure no one had heard his name. He knew Batman wouldn't be that careless, but it was a habit.

"Tonight? You mean after the debriefing?"

"I mean instead of the debriefing," Batman muttered. "Five is enough to tell J'onn what he already knows, don't you think?"

"But who will do the paperwork?"

"Diana will make Flash do it," Batman said. "And she'll stand over his shoulder the whole time to make sure he isn't just doodling cats again."

"You think?"

They watched Wonder Woman finally grab hold of Flash's ear and caught the bottle of champagne he dropped.

"I know," Batman smirked.

"Where did he even find champagne?"

"Clark."

Superman looked back to Batman. "Yeah?"

"Let's do it tonight."

Clark blushed furiously. "R…really? Are you sure?"

It had been two weeks since Clark had found Bruce, wounded and alone, in his mansion, Alfred having gone on vacation. For four days, Clark had stayed in the guest room, attending to Bruce's every need and whim. Clark had a feeling Bruce was enjoying using him, as he had a hard time imagining Bruce ordering Alfred to polish his tailpipe or lay his pipes. But he'd still enjoyed himself immensely, just knowing that Bruce Wayne was in the next room, and listening to his breathing get stronger and stronger as his ribs began to knit back together. But most of all, he loved knowing, as Bruce had made crystal clear, that he was a courtship away from holding him, touching him, kissing him passionately and never having to let him go. But life had gotten in the way these intervening weeks, and Clark hadn't been about to take Bruce on their first date.

"Are you busy?"

He was. "No, of course not!" Clark said too loudly. He caught it, cleared his throat and repeated at a human volume, "No, of course not."

"Good," said Batman, and Superman thought he heard a huff of relief, as if he'd been holding his breath. "I'll leave now, I never go to the debriefings. You head out with the team, but halfway to the Watch Tower, say you've got to take care of some business you forgot about, subtly hinting that it has something to do with your day job. That'll keep them from getting suspicious."

Bruce had put a _lot_ of thought into this. "I'll have to run home first," Clark said. "Make sure you're wearing something that can get dirty!"

Batman shook his head. "No need for that. I've made reservations at Jean-Georges."

"That…that posh French restaurant you bought in New York?"

"The same."

Oh. "That sounds…" Stuffy. Annoying. Stiff. Uncomfortable. "…great!"

Bruce watched Clark carefully. "Pick me up at seven."

A date with Bruce Wayne. A date with Bruce! Superman shook his head lightly with a smile. "Six thirty it is." Bruce hated when Clark showed up _anywhere_ late, let alone to their first date.

"I'll see you then," Batman said flatly, climbing back into the Batplane and taking off.

"Hey, SUPES!" Clark turned around to see Flash beckoning him over to the rest of the team. "Settle something for us!"

As Superman made his way to the team, it felt like he was walking on air; and looking down, he realized he was.


	2. Chapter 2

**Where did this ASL headcanon come from...**

 **Maybe, because Hawk Girl sounds close to Hawkeye who is/was deaf?**

 **Anyway.**

 **-Cro**

"No, you're _wrong_!"

"No, _you're_ wrong!"

"No, you're wrong!"

"You are!"

"No, you!"

"CHILDREN!" Wonder Woman roared from the cockpit of her invisible jet. "So help me Athena, I will turn this plane around!"

Hawk Girl couldn't hear through the walls of the jet, so Superman narrated for her, finding it difficult not to laugh and miss something.

Flash, buckled in by invisible belts and looking like a quarrelsome child, pointed at the Green Lantern. "Mom!" he demanded, "Tell him he's wrong!"

"Why did I agree to give you a ride! Not you, Aqua Man," she said hastily as he threw up his arms in consternation, "you're being good."

"Why don't you ask Dad?" Hal said angrily. "He gets the final say."

"Fine! I will! Hey DAD!"

Clark used ASL to sign to Flash: I'm not your dad.

"Dad, settle something. Why do I need to say you're faster than a _speeding_ bullet, huh? What other kinds of bullets are there?"

"There's, I dunno, _not_ speeding bullets?"

"What kind of bullet is doesn't speed? A bullet I lightly chuck at your face?"

"For example, yes!"

" _You're_ faster than a not-speeding bullet!"

"Kids, be _nice!_ You are _adults!_ "

"…"

"… _you're_ an adult," Hal whispered to Flash.

Stop bothering your mom Clark signed.

"You're not my _real_ dad!" Flash pouted playfully.

"Okay," Clark said to Hawk Girl. "Not that this is getting annoying, but I've gotta go."

"Oh no!" she said mockingly. "But it was just getting good!"

"Will you let Wonder Woman know I have some work I need to catch up with before tomorrow?"

"Oh, come on," Hawk Girl grinned, "It can wait one more night, can't it?"

"Yes, But _I_ can't," Clark said before he could stop himself. He immediately turned crimson. "I mean-"

"O- _ho_ , _that_ kind of work, is it?" she teased. She flew ahead of Clark, her wings near vibrating in mischievous delight.

She pulled beside Wonder Woman: Guess who's got a date tonight she signed.

Who Diana signed back.

Hawk Girl gestured gleefully at Clark and he blushed even harder.

"No!" Wonder Woman said aloud in disbelief. " _Superman?_ "

"What did Dad do?" Flash was immediately in the cockpit. "Did he do something? Tell me!"

Wonder Woman cackled over her shoulder. "Superman's got a _daaaate!_ " she sang.

"What?" cried Green Lantern. "No way! With who?"

"I bet it's Power Girl!" Flash winked several times in a row. "Is it? Is it Power Girl? I bet it is!"

"I don't think Power Girl is Superman's type," Aqua Man said.

"God, shut _up_ , Aqua man!"

"Power Girl is everyone's type, Aqua Man," Wonder Woman said, "I think it's her-"

"BOOBS!" Flash supplied! "Boobs! It's boobs, right? You were gonna say boobs?"

"… _bubbly personality_ ," Wonder Woman glared.

"What about that journalist that's always doing stories on him for the Planet?" offered the Green Lantern. "She seems to have the hots for Superman. Lane something."

"Naw, his stalker? No way!"

"Where's Batman?" Aqua Man asked, but fortunately, no one heard him except Clark, who tripped on an air current in surprise.

Clark glowered at Hawk Girl when he regained his balance. "Look what you've done."

She smirked. "It's more interesting than "speeding" vs. "not-speeding" bullets. I'm putting my money on Solomon Grundy, and I promise Diana's calling Night Wing." She flew up and signed: Taking bets

"Night Wing," Wonder Woman yelled over her shoulder. "He's just dark enough to balance out the Boy Scout, and he's cute as hell."

" _Goodbye_ ," Superman shouted over his shoulder as he hung a right, but even when he hit the Metropolis city limits, he could still hear his teammates arguing about "ships" and "ohteepees." His face felt hot, but thinking of Bruce Wayne just a few hundred miles away, straightening his back brace in the mirror as he picked out a tie- oh, with that image in his mind, of Bruce Wayne nervously trying to pick out the best outfit (did Bruce Wayne _get_ nervous? That would sure make Clark feel better about the butterflies in his stomach) his anxiety settled into a warm, happy excitement. As he arrived on his fire escape, mentally picking out an outfit, his thigh started buzzing.

"Ma," he answered his phone as he climbed into his apartment through the window. "Guess what? Remember that date I told you about? It's tonight!'

" _Finally_ ," Martha Kent cried. "That boy has had you on the line for two dang weeks! There comes a time when you either oughtta reel 'em in or-"

"Or let him go, right. But it's not like that, Ma, between my work, his company, the League, his doctor appointments…"

"Baby, you know what your father would say to you?"

Clark laid out his suit on his unmade bed. "If it's important, you gotta find time, I know. That's what we're doing tonight. I'm blowing off Lois, he's blowing off Hong Kong… it'll be nice just to spend some time together. I know it sounds stupid because I see him practically every day, but, I miss him, Ma."

"That don't sound stupid at all, honey."

"Great. And I'll pick up flowers in Gotham, I don't want to ruin them on the flight over."

From Ma Kent's line, spritely footsteps ran down the stairs and flew to the phone. "Who's that, Aunt Martha? Is that Clark? Can I say hi?"

"Baby, Cousin Kara wants to say hi. Now, you give me that phone when you're done, little miss, I want to say goodbye to my son this time."

"Yes, ma'am." And then Kara squealed excitedly into the phone. "CLARK! I miss you!"

"Hi Kara, how are you?"

"I'm great, great, great! Did Aunt Martha tell you we made ice cream? We made coffee ice cream! Have you had coffee ice cream before?"

"Oh, that reminds me. Turns out aspirin doesn't affect other people like it does us. So add that to the list of things that affect Kryptonians differently than earthlings."

"Alcohol, jazz music, sugar, kryptonite and…"

"Aspirin."

"And aspirin! Got it! Aunt Martha was supposed to invite you to our ice cream party! We're renting The Princess Bride and Casablanca! Are you coming?"

Clark's heart lurched. "Oh, I forgot movie night, didn't I?"

"Psh, what's more important than watching dumb movies with your mom and your favorite cousin in the whole wide universe?"

"I actually…have a date," Clark blushed, "A first date. A pretty important one, too."

"That Bruce guy finally let you take him out?" Kara gushed. "That's awesome! Are you taking him putt-putting?"

"I was," Clark said, appraising his three neckties before tossing aside the one with the embroidered cats someone had given him for a Daily Planet Secret Santa last year. "But he made reservations at a swanky French restaurant in New York. Hey, you know my suit?"

"Which one? The _only_ one?"

"Ha!" Clark burst sarcastically. "Ha ha! You're so very funny! You know I have lots of suits."

"You have four and they're all the same one."

"Which tie should I wear, the red silk or the blue checked cotton?"

Kara gagged dramatically. "Do you have a sombrero and a bikini? Because that would be better than a dark grey suit with either of those ties."

Clark's stomach dropped. "So…"

"No tie. And for goodness' sake, unbutton your shirt at the top. Act like you live in business casual."

"You know he's met me, right?"

"What kind of flowers are you getting him?" Kara ignored him pointedly.

Clark looked at his watch. It was 6. "Roses."

"Gross, no."

"What? Roses are classic!"

"Roses are played out."

And from the upstairs phone came Martha's voice. "Listen to Kara, Clark."

"Ma, you don't like roses?"

"I do, but I'm a little older than you. What about lilies?"

"Those are too girly, Aunt Martha. Ooh, daffodils?"

"They're not in season, dear. You can't start off a relationship with puny or wilted flowers."

Clark blushed. "Relationship?"

"Clark Kent, don't tell me you want to take this boy on a lovely date without any intention of starting a relationship!"

"You're such a tease, oh my gosh!"

"It's six, ladies, I've got to go."

"Enjoy yourself, sweetie."

"I wanna hear all about it!"

"So do I!"

With a dumb grin stuck on his face, Clark quickly put on his clothes, locked the window behind him and flew off to Gotham.

There was only one flower shop in Gotham that wasn't currently a front for mob activity, so Clark touched down an empty alley away to pick out flowers. The bored teenage sales clerk barely looked at him as he paced the aisles.

"Roses," he murmured. "Lilies, boy, those daffodils _are_ wilted, peonies, I don't know what those are, pink is out, right? I don't know what those are, ooh, they smell pretty!" And then Clark had the perfect, the _only_ idea, and he handed the surprised clerk his bouquet with ten minutes to spare.


	3. Chapter 3

**Still pretty darn furious, lemme tell ya.**

 **-Cro**

Alfred greeted Clark at the door a brisk five minute stroll later.

"Mr. Kent," he said warmly. "Do come in. May I take your, um, _those_?" Alfred indicated to large bouquet with dry amusement.

"That's okay, Mr. Pennyworth," Clark smiled. "I'd like to give them to Bruce."

"As you will," Alfred said, closing the door with the brand new lock and leading Clark to the sitting room. "I'm afraid Master Wayne wasn't expecting you for another-"

"I'm here, Alfred," Bruce said over Alfred's shoulder, and he caught Clark's eye.

"Bruce," Clark breathed as he took him in. He though he had seen Bruce in all states of dress and undress by that point, from his bat suit, to his professional sport jackets, to his tuxedo clad Wayne Enterprises events, to half naked in boxers and bandages, to his quick and systematic changing after Justice League ordeals. But never had Clark ever seen him like this: perfectly tailored black suit, perfectly perfect hair, shirt unbuttoned at the top, swiftly tying a grey necktie at his throat. And though it wasn't the sexiest outfit Clark had ever seen Bruce in, he fair swooned at the sight, because never had he seen Bruce wear any outfit specifically for him, with him in mind, in anticipation of seeing _him_. Clark's heart swelled with joy.

"Clark," Bruce smiled roguishly. "You look great."

"Thank do you," Clark flustered. "I mean, thank so! I mean, thank you, so do you!"

Though Bruce bit his lip stoically, Alfred covered a snort with a brief cough.

"That's sweet, thank you."

"Oh!" Clark said after a second of expectant silence. "Um, I brought you flowers!"

"You did," Bruce said flatly, looking at the huge, misshapen bouquet.

"Yeah, I didn't know what you like, so I just got one of everything." He pointed to a dark red rose, a white peony, a puny yellow daffodil, some irises, a large orange carnation, a small sunflower, a brilliantly colored tropical flower, some lavender….

Bruce Wayne covered his quaking smirk behind a large hand. "That's…that's so like you!" He let out a quick guffaw, then slapped his hand over his mouth to laugh silently, shoulders shaking, and Clark's spine tingled with pleasure; Bruce was laughing for _him_!

Behind the formidable, giggling Batman, Alfred smiled affectionately at his employer. "Good call," he whispered, just loud enough for Clark to hear.

"Ha, you really are a dope! Alfred, please take these up to my room."

"Very good, Master Wayne. Will you be needing a car this evening?"

"That's okay, Mr. Pennyworth," Clark said before Bruce could answer, and he turned to him. "I thought I'd give you a ride. Flying is smoother, and you're still healing."

Not to mention, Clark was sure they both thought, the sky is much more private than a road.

In answer, Bruce winked at Alfred. "Thank you, Alfred, not tonight," and Clark was ecstatic to show him the prettiest sight in the whole world, knowing how beautiful his face would be when he saw it.

Alfred nodded. "In that case, I insist you wear another coat, Master Wayne."

"Very good, Alfred," Bruce said after donning his proffered long black coat.

"Ready?" Clark said finally, if a little impatiently.

Bruce nodded, but yelped when Clark picked him up bridal style.

"What were you expecting?" Clark laughed. "I didn't bring my sidecar."

But Bruce indicated meaningfully at Alfred, who cleared his throat, a little embarrassed. "Master Wayne, Mr. Kent," he said. "Have a good night."

"Same to you, Mr. Pennyworth," Clark smiled. Bruce grunted.

With that, Clark stepped onto the porch and leapt into the air, making sure to create an angle that wouldn't put any undue pressure on the man whose body heat leached through his clothes, filling Clark's head with joy.

As they reached the bright clouds, Clark hovered in thin air. "We'll leave in a second," he said. "I just want to show you something."

"I've seen sunsets before, Clark. Even from up here."

"Only in the line of duty, right? I don't think you've ever _watched_ a sunset before. Look!" On cue, the sun began to dip below the horizon, illuminating the windows in Gotham's downtown a bright gold against the black, backlit skyline. The buildings in Gotham's skyline were blocky, generally wider than in Metropolis, stouter, as if they had been rebuilt with their tall, easily toppled predecessors in mind, with the exception of two or three glowing, modernly artistic marvels of architecture Clark nearly felt sorry for; in Gotham, buildings like that might stand a year, two if they were lucky, before blowing up, casualties of yet another villain.

But for now, they blazed orange and gold and the scene took Clark's breath away. In fact, he heard Bruce's breath hitch in his throat.

"I love Metropolis," Clark said finally. "And I protect it. But sometimes I don't know if I protect my city because I love it, or love my city because I protect it. And then I come up here to remember."

The sunset slowly drained the color from the clouds they were hovering in, and not until the twilit sky faded into a deep, velvet blue did either look aught from the horizon.

Bruce cleared his throat abruptly. "We'll be late."

The stars were fading into the night sky, and it was with reluctance that Clark started flying east, against the last bits of the sun. The moon was full and huge, lighting up Bruce's face and making his eyes shine as Clark gazed at him. "Just… just tell me where to go."

While Bruce dictated directions to Clark, neither of them noticed the surge of clouds behind them, nor the nearly silent engines that stalked them through the sky.


	4. Chapter 4

**"** **Hey mom, how do you know when you're in love?**

 **"** **All the songs start making sense."**

 **"** **Oh." *casually kicks collection of SuperBat slash music videos under the bed* "Even Drops of Jupiter?"**

 **"** **Especially Drops of Jupiter."**

 **"** **noooooooooo…"**

 **-Cro**

"Do you think he saw us?" the woman in the copilot's seat whispered.

"It's the _Invisible Jet,_ " the pilot answered. "Besides, we have cloud cover and Batman's engine silencer. I think we're good."

"Are you sure that's him?" Aqua Man asked from the back.

"It's a flying dude," Flash groaned, "Carrying a dude. What are the odds it's _not_ Superman?"

"But Superman doesn't wear glasses."

"Someone explain disguises to Aqua Man," Wonder Woman said. "Green Lantern, can you chart their trajectory?"

"I could if they had one. They're just ambling around. It's like he's giving him a scenic tour."

"Do we at least have eyes on his date?"

"I do," Hawk Girl said. "Dark hair, fine suit, strong jaw… he looks familiar, actually. Where have I seen him before?"

But before everyone could get a good look at the mysterious date, the pair disappeared in a blur of grey.

"Lantern!" Wonder Woman shouted.

"I don't know where he went!"

"There!" Flash shouted, pointing out the window. "He's doing flips and spins, oh man, that guy is gonna _puke_!"

"He's dawdling," Aqua Man said curiously. "Why is he wasting time?"

"Oh, he taught me that move," Lantern said casually. "See, when he's not on the same plane of vision long enough for us to register his position, he's basically invisible to RADAR and human sight. But he won't attack until he has enough cover to stay on the same plane long enough to get momentum."

"What kind of cover?"

"Like-" The moon suddenly disappeared behind a swath of clouds and the entire plane screamed.

…

 _That'll teach them_ , Clark thought as Bruce stirred awake.

When his eyes finally started to focus, he glared at Clark. "You went full G-force on me."

"I was trying to impress you," Clark lied. "I guess I got too excited, I'm sorry."

"Don't try to impress me again, my head is spinning. Where are we?"

Clark looked down at the speeding ground and caught sight of a city sign. "We just passed Harrisburg."

Clearly this surprised Bruce. "How long was I passed out?"

"About ten seconds."

"You make good time. Okay, if we're near Harrisburg, head northwest."

Clark changed direction accordingly. "I thought I read that your restaurant is near Central Park."

Bruce ignored him. "Keep on until we see wat- oh, there it is."

"Lake Erie?"

"Keep an eye out for a small yellow sailboat," Bruce said enigmatically. "We'll take it into shore."

Soon, a motionless, empty yellow boat, lit softly from the deck, swam into view, smack in the middle of the Great Lake.

"You set this up?" Clark asked, surprised.

Bruce shrugged nonchalantly. "If we just flew in, that would ruin the whole 'secret identity' thing. Besides. This way _I_ get to take _you_ there."

It was such a childish addendum that Clark laughed as he touched down onto the deck. "Oh, is _that_ all!"

Bruce shrugged his coat and jacket off with a little smile. "Regardless of what either of us would prefer, I am still Bruce Wayne. Even out here, I'm a recognizable face, and if, say, a picture surfaced of Bruce Wayne being escorted on a date, there would be questions I'm not prepared to answer." As he spoke, he reeled in the huge anchor and loosed the sails as easily as if he did this _every_ Friday, and Clark was struck dumb by the bulging muscles under those casually rolled sleeves and that undone tie.

But Bruce didn't even seem to notice the effect he had on the super man. "Thankfully," he continued as he began sailing toward shore, "I had the foresight to be seen with several different men for the last few months. Because you have such a low-key profession, it won't be newsworthy in the least. The only people that might have questions are your colleagues at the _Planet_. But, I own the paper, so most of them will be too afraid to ask you. Clark?"

Clark was shocked out of his admiration of the patch of black hair peeking out from his unbuttoned shirt. "Hmm?"

"That's very flattering, but please voice your compliments," Bruce admonished. "I'm not prepared to be the talkative one."

Clark flushed. "Ah! Right, sorry. Uh, how was your day?"

Bruce smirked. "Uneventful," he said. "I had a meeting with tech this morning, had lunch with Fox and spent the afternoon destroying a massive robot army and apprehended the villain that set them on Detroit. You?"

"Ah, r-right," Clark stammered. "That was…that was today."

"Anyone ever tell you what a brilliant conversationalist you are?"

Clark felt his cheeks burn and he stared at the black water rushing against the hull of the boat. "Well, it's not like I had a lot of notice! I'm still shocked that you finally agreed to come on a date with me!"

Bruce shot him a quizzical look. "I'm teasing, Clark. I'm just surprised that you're nervous. I can't imagine that _Superman_ goes a week without a date."

"You don't have to imagine," Clark sighed. "Superman doesn't date and Clark Kent doesn't attract a lot of attention."

"Goodness!" Bruce burst. "Is that what you think! Then I suppose I'm lucky that I took you out before you realized Jackson only makes copies when you do so he can run into you and Lois writes articles deliberately contradicting yours to get your attention."

"What, really?"

"You really didn't realize half your office is waiting for you to ask them out? You really are a dope!"

Clark was mortified. "Is that what you do when you visit the _Planet_? Watch me?"

Bruce shrugged. "You're wrong about Clark Kent not attracting a lot of attention. It's off-putting when you're too humble to realize just how stupidly attractive your boss's boss's boss thinks you are."

Despite himself, Clark flinched, and Bruce grinned.

"I don't even know if I want to dock," he purred. "It would be a perfect night just dropping the anchor and making you make that face until morning."

"You're teasing," Clark said, chagrined.

"Not even a little," Bruce answered, adjusting the sail a bit to slow the boat down. "If I'd thought to ask Joan and Miguel to stock the boat with anything other than champagne, I'm sure we'd sleep here."

Clark felt dizzy. "Sleep here..?"

"Not unless you wanted to, of course," Bruce said, shaking his head lightly. "But to be honest, I am seldom _not_ begged to continue the date upstairs, as it were."

At Clark's deflated face, Bruce wiped a bit of lake spray from his jaw, sending a thrill down Clark's spine.

"I find begging quite off-putting," Bruce murmured in his ear. "I'd much rather be ordered upstairs. As it were."

Oh. That's how it is, thought Clark, immediately followed by a string of clean, repulsive images. Grandmothers and Bible Study, he thought. That article on the Syrian civil war he still had to edit before tomorrow. Anything to keep his blood in his head and chest.

"Is that so," Clark answered, and he _hated_ that it sounded like a growl.

But the lips resting against his ear split into a grin as Bruce trailed a calloused finger down Clark's jawline. "Mmm," Bruce hummed. But then, abruptly, he pulled away and stood up. "But first, I'm starving. There's the dock."

Clark found it difficult to tear his eyes away from the body that had just now been filling his chest with heat to the small, clean dock in the bay. He regarded it with surprise.

"This isn't New York."

"No," Bruce said, jumping nimbly onto the dock. Before Clark managed to stand up in the gently rocking boat, Bruce had already tied it to a post and held out his hand to pull Clark up.

"Your restaurant is in Pennsylvania?" Clark wondered aloud.

"No, Central Park. Come on."

Bruce Wayne threaded his fingers through Clark's and pulled him along the dock. Absently, he pulled a button from his pocket and clicked it so Clark could hear the sail furling itself and the mast nestling itself in the hull, just as they'd found it. But he barely noted the sailboat's mechanism; he was so surprised by the blinking, garish lights over the sand dune.

"Where are we?" he asked in genuine confusion.

In response, Bruce just led him up the dune and put his hands on his hips.

"You didn't seem too keen on a posh French restaurant," he said as Clark looked in awe over the massive, colorful miniature golf course, "so I changed my mind."

"You like," Clark just barely stopped himself from calling it putt-putt, "miniature golf?"

Bruce shrugged. "I've never played. I golf, I assume the same principle applies. Get the ball in the hole."

"Let's make it interesting, then," Clark grinned.

"Mmm. Yes sir."

…

"Excuse me, Wonder Woman," a voice said from the intercom.

"Yes, J'onn?" The Justice League had been searching the entire eastern coast of the United States for an hour and had been interrupted twice, once by a drowning teenager and once by a small shark Aqua Man heard trapped in a net. They were bored. They were ready to call it and head to the Watch Tower to finish that paperwork they'd been putting off since Superman flew off.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," J'onn said, "But I believe I've located Superman."

Flash woke up immediately at that, shaking Green Lantern and Aqua Man. "He found 'em! Wake up, J'onn found 'em!"

"Oh J'onn, you beautiful green man!" Hawk Girl cried in relief. "You beautiful, wonderful, terrific, sexy, awesome…"

"Where are they?" Wonder Woman interrupted.

"A miniature golf course on the coast of Lake Erie. I will send you the coordinates."

The control panel lit up with directions to Pennsylvania and the entire plane cheered.

"You're a dream!" Hawk Girl called to J'onn.

"Keep eyes on them," Wonder Woman ordered, and the Justice League sped toward the blinking destination on the panel.


	5. Chapter 5

**So I just finished the third part in the My Partner series, which means y'all better start reading and commenting; writing for like six ghosts a day on a fanfiction site is NOT a good excuse for my editor when she asks where my manuscript is. It'll be called My Partner's Love and I'll start posting when Hand is done in one or two chapters. As much as I enjoy the cutesy fun fics, the drama that's coming is more my wheelhouse. Start participating, y'all.**

 **-Cro**

"Well, what do you expect? These clubs are like toothpicks!"

Clark smiled as he fished yet another one of Bruce's wayward yellow golf balls out of the little pond. By the fourth hole, Bruce was already eleven strokes over par and they'd had to let two teenage couples play through. It would probably be embarrassing if Clark didn't think it was so damn cute that Bruce Wayne, billionaire businessman and vigilante, couldn't putt to save his life.

"How many is that now, Bruce?" Clark couldn't, or wouldn't, suppress the amused smirk on his face.

Bruce consulted the score sheet. "Eleven dinners," he groaned, "and three stories."

"And takeout at the Tower doesn't count," Clark reminded him. "You cook or nothing."

Bruce scowled. "Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren't you?"

"The way you're playing? I think I'm safe!"

With a chuckle, Clark set the dripping ball onto the grass and Bruce prepared to swing.

"Bruce, the hole is a foot away, you can't drive it!"

Bruce frowned. "Putting has always been the worst part of my game."

Aw! He changed his dinner plans to come out to miniature golf with Clark and risked embarrassing himself just for him!

With a surge of affection in his chest, Clark stood behind Bruce. "May I?" he asked.

"Fine."

So Clark pulled himself into Bruce's back and adjusted his rough hands for him. "You're gripping the club too tight," he explained. "And you're too tense. Relax your muscles and just let it go into the hole."

"You're such an innocent Boy Scout," Bruce sighed, but he relaxed his posture and sank against Clark's chest.

"Okay." Clark gently touched Bruce's warm, calloused fingers back into place. "Ready? Pull back a little and gently tap the ball into the hole."

And gently, Bruce Wayne did.

"…I missed."

Clark was flabbergasted. "You… how did you _miss_?"

In his shock, Clark only caught a momentary glance of the red blur with the fake mustache- but a momentary glance was all he needed.

"So," he said with false cheer. "We're going to be at this awhile. I'll go grab us some corndogs. And soda? I'll grab you a soda." Without waiting for a response, Clark defied human sight and caught the red blur by the back of his costume, lifting him into the air. He flew them to an abandoned corner of the course and set him down roughly.

"Flash."

"What?" Flash cried. "How can you see through my clever disguise? This is a fake _mustache_!"

Clark bristled. "Is sarcastic _really_ the tone you want to take right now?"

"It's my natural setting!"

"What are you _doing_ here?"

"I, uh, golfing."

"You were spying."

At this, Flash drew back in mock horror. "I! Never! I say, Superman, the nerve!"

Clark instinctively looked around to make sure no one had overheard him. "What are you _doing?_ Don't I have a right to a life outside of the Justice League?"

"Don't worry!" Flash grinned. "We know your face, not your name! And we won't even goo-"

"Who's 'we'?" Clark roared.

Flash recoiled. "No one! Jeez! Hal."

"Flash," Clark said slowly. "I am on a personal…"

"Date?" Flash supplied helpfully.

"Fine. Yes. Date."

"With Bruce Wayne! That billionaire guy from Gotham!"

"Y…yes."

"So none of us win," he said, dejected.

"Power Girl is _not_ my type, Flash."

"But her boobs are bigger than your- no, okay, whatever. Your loss, I guess."

"Flash."

"Yes?"

Clark towered over his colleague. "Take Hal and both of you get the HECK out of here!"

"Ha! You said a bad language wo- GOING SIR!"

Flash just barely dodged the abandoned miniature windmill Clark hurled at him. Satisfied that Flash'd left the course entirely, he walked to a corndog vendor and bought dinner for his date.

….

" _Hal,_ " Flash said over the team speak. " _Come on, we're going to Philly._ "

Green Lantern whispered into earpiece from his vantage point atop a giant clown head. "What? But we've almost figured out who Superman's date is!"

" _Bruce Wayne, I saw!_ "

"I _knew_ he looked familiar!" Hawk Girl whisper-yelled from the bushes.

" _But that's not important,_ " Flash continued. " _What's important is Superman caught me and I accidentally gave you up._ "

"You _what?!_ " Wonder Woman cut in from the soda line, dressed in a blonde wig and a park uniform.

" _Not everyone, just Hal! It was an accident!_ "

"BlrbbluhBLRbluh."

" _Shut up, Fish-Breath._ "

"Why Philly?"

" _Cuz we gotta get the hell outta Dodge, man! Superman said heck!_ "

"How terrifying," said Wonder Woman.

" _You weren't there, Dubba Dubya! Come on, Hal, half-priced Coolies at Shannon's_!"

"Blrrrbluhbluuhbub."

" _Heck you, Aqua Man!_ "

"So…"

Wonder Woman groaned. "Just go. We've got this."

Clark regarded the green streak in the sky with satisfaction as he munched on his corndog. "Six," he reminded Bruce.

"On a par four!" Bruce was really adorable when he was flustered.

"Six _over_ par. Seven."

Finally, Bruce putted the ball into the hole. "This is a frustrating game," he scowled.

Clark smiled fondly. Bruce had been such a good sport all night that maybe it was time to put him out of his misery and do something they'd _both_ enjoy.

"Let's say the last hole is game?"

"What's the score?"

Clark consulted the score sheet. "You're eighteen over par and I'm four under. So that's eighteen dinners and four stories, my favor."

"Ugh," Bruce groaned. "Give me a _shot._ "

"Alright," Clark said kindly. "Whoever wins the next hole wins all the forfeits?" It was a charitable deal that would make Bruce feel like he'd at least done his best, and he'd earned at least that much.

"Deal. You first."

Obligingly, Clark lined up his shot through the gnome gardeners. One. Two. Three on a par three. He smiled and started to hand Bruce his club when he caught the eye of a blonde park worker, who immediately looked away and whistled. His face fell.

"Bit slow on the uptake, Kent," Bruce murmured, noting Clark's expression.

"I thought I'd got rid of them."

"Just Flash and Lantern." They were speaking low enough to confound Hawk Girl's hearing, wherever she was. "Wonder Woman's still selling soda and Aqua Man was in the water hazard on Hole 4. He's slippery. I kept missing."

"You _tried_ to hit the water hazard?"

Bruce gave him a quizzical look. "Of course. I didn't want to be interrupted."

"So what now?" Clark cringed. "Now that they know we've seen them."

"You could tell them to beat it and risk them interrupting us and their questions about how we met, and knowing how well you did with distracting them off our _date_ , accidentally revealing both our secret identities."

Oof. "Or?"

" _Or_ ," Bruce said putting one arm around Clark's neck, "we can fly off somewhere beyond J'onn's surveillance."

Clark spared a brief moment to point at the bushes he'd caught a rustle from and yell, "Look, everyone! It's Hawk Girl!" before leaping into the air amidst the chaos.

"Wait, wait!" Bruce yelled over the screaming air. "Go back for one second!"

Making sure the crowd was still surrounding a glaring Hawk Girl and Wonder Woman was still running to the dip in Lake Erie she'd left the Invisible Plane, he dipped down to Hole 6. Left-handed and still holding onto Clark with his right arm, Bruce picked up the still-falling club and swung it onto his yellow ball.

Clank, it went, bouncing off a gnome. Clank, clank, gupgupgup. A hole in one.

"Okay," Bruce smirked at Clark's shocked face. "We can go now."

As Aqua Man raised his head out of the water, to the apathy of Hawk Girl's throng of admirers. He heard the air scream, " _You hustled meeeeeee_ ," with a chorus of joyous cackles.


	6. Chapter 6

**You guys, I promise I wrote all of this before I saw the new Batman vs. Superman movie. I swear. The mommy issues are just a total coincidence.**

 **-Cro**

"Hustled," Clark grumbled. "I can't believe you hustled me. On our first date, too."

"I don't know what you were expecting," Bruce scoffed in Clark's arms as they blazed through the sky. "Bruce Wayne, bad at mini golf? Please."

"You didn't have to lie about how good you are, though!"

Bruce laughed again. Another real, genuine laugh, touched with mirth but not a bit of cruelty. "With stakes like these? Eighteen favors of the remarkable Clark Kent, to use at my discretion?"

"I wouldn't have offered that forfeit if I knew you were cheating me."

"At the least, you should have suspected," Bruce said, loosing his tie. "Now for my first favor. Let me blindfold you."

Clark started, bouncing off a wind current and struggling to keep from jostling Bruce's ribs. "You can't blindfold me, I'm flying here!"

"I'll direct you," Bruce said. "By the time Diana gets Hawk Girl into the plane, our trail will be cold, and we're already out of the scope of Watch Tower surveillance. Come on. I want to surprise you."

"You've already surprised me," Clark protested as Bruce slipped his grey tie over his eyes. "For starters, you wore a lead-lined tie."

"I plan for every contingency," Bruce said as he knotted the tie tightly at the back of Clark's head.

" _Every_ contingency," he added in a low whisper at Clark's ear, and Superman blushed under the lead-lined silk.

"A little lower," Bruce proceeded to direct Clark. "Okay, I know where we are."

For ten minutes they flew, and though Clark tried to keep track through all the circles, double-backs, abrupt halts and diversions, he had to admit that he was completely lost. Bruce remained smug, solid and hot in Clark's arms, and it would have been hard enough to concentrate just holding the man's body to his chest in the high, thin air.

Once Bruce was satisfied, he nodded. "Alright. Start coming down. A little to the left. Left. Steady on."

But as the air grew warmer and thicker, Clark's nose and ears started working overtime to make up for the temporary blindness.

The first thing to hit him was the warm, familiar scent of grass and cows and tea and warm, heavy wool blankets and sunbaked skin. The second was a warm, familiar voice singing a new song.

"Blame it on _Aleve_! Got me calling _Steve_! Blame it on _Excedrin_ , got me up in _bed an'_ blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-aspirin, blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-aspirin!"

"Kara?" Clark wondered aloud. "Are we in… _Kansas_?"

Bruce groaned. "Well, that spoiled that at least." Clark felt Bruce's thumb slip under the tie, pulling it off in a swift, fluid motion, and Clark saw his family's sprawling, comfortable farm just below him.

He stopped, hovering over the little white house that shone like a beacon in the black night. "Why are we at the farm?"

Bruce shrugged casually. "It's movie night," he said.

"But," Clark was flabbergasted. "But why are we in Smallville for movie night?"

" _Kara,_ " Ma Kent's voice called in the house. " _I think I hear them. Check on the pizza pockets, would you?_ "

" _They're fine, Aunt Martha, I checked a minute ago!_ "

" _Then go grab them, please, the popcorn is getting cold!_ "

"Because," Bruce said as a curvy, grinning blonde jumped out the kitchen window and flew up to meet them, "your family is important to you, and I want to meet them."

Kara smirked a little at Clark, hovering in front of him. "Surprise!" she said.

"Nice song."

"I love you too, cuz!" Her beam could have melted a plane to juice. "And you must be Bruce!"

There are very few people that can manage to look dignified while being carried bridal-style by an enormous man twenty yards in the air. Luckily, Bruce Wayne was one of them.

"Pleasure," he said, proffering his left hand, which Kara shook. "Thank you very much for your help today, Ms. Zor-El."

Clark narrowed his eyes at Kara, but she ignored him. "I wish I could have seen his face! Ugh, was it funny?"

"Very."

"Come on in, you guys!" Kara grinned, sinking slowly to the ground. "Wait till you try the ice cream! I helped Aunt Martha make it!"

"You called my cousin," Clark accused as he set Bruce onto the walk. Kara ran inside to yell for Ma Kent.

"I called your mother," Bruce replied casually. "Your cousin interrupted. I suspect that's not unusual."

"I think it should bother me that you called my mother."

"I would have eventually anyway. This way, I know to take you miniature golfing instead of to a fancy French restaurant you'll hate, and _you_ know I hate roses."

Clark's eyebrows furrowed in consternation. "But…isn't this jumping the gun a little? This is only our first date."

"With your permission," Bruce said, leading Clark up the walk to the house, "I'd like to consider this the first of several."

"R…really?"

"I'd like to take it as fact that we were going to get to this point eventually, and since you've met everyone that is important to me already, and since I daresay we already know each other at least as well as the average couple at the point that they meet each other's families, in some respects at least, I see no reason not to meet your family for movie night."

Unbidden, the fevered memory of Bruce, heavy and hot, pressing his burning forehead into Clark's chest filled his mind. " _You're mine,_ " he'd hissed.

" _Mine._ "

"Clark? Is that alright?"

Clark looked back up at Bruce on his mother's porch. His dark hair was mussed a little from the flight and his cheeks were still red from the cold and the wind. He'd swung his coats over his shoulder and put his other hand so comfortably in his perfectly tailored pocket, and gave Clark such a relaxed smile, and was so softly lit against the house's warm, yellow light that there was only one answer.

"It's perfect."

"And just _what_ does my son think he's doing," Martha Kent's voice yelled from inside, "trying to heat the neighborhood? Come in, close the door!"

Clark startled, feeling nine years old again, and dashed inside, dragging Bruce behind him.

Martha greeted them in the door. "Hello, Clark!" she grinned, pulling his face down with her little, wrinkled hands and kissing him on both cheeks. "Welcome home!"

All the annoyance he'd felt at his mother going behind his back and telling Bruce how to woo her son disappeared. "Hey, Ma, how are you?"

"And _this_ must be _Bruce_!" she said, ignoring him. "Oh my, you're so much taller than your picture!"

Clark was mortified. "You have a _picture_? Ma!"

"Kara gloopled him for me," Martha said with a wave of her hand.

" _Googled!_ " Kara called from the kitchen.

Bruce offered his hand. "It's nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Kent."

Martha brushed his hand aside. "We don't shake hands in this family, Bruce," and before Clark could finish saying "Ma, _no_ ," she'd stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around Bruce's chest.

Shit. When was the last time _anyone_ hugged Bruce Wayne? Bruce stood frozen for a moment and Clark tried to find a reason for his mother to let go his date. "Um, Ma! Popcorn! Uh, is the movie ready? Ma, you, um… _Kara!_ "

But before Clark's cousin could come intervene, Bruce hugged Martha back with a laugh. "Ha! Alright, then!"

"What's the haps?" Kara asked, poking her head into the foyer. "Oh! Aunt Martha, okay! Hey, Bruce only just met you, Auntie!"

But as Martha tried to release Bruce, he pulled her in tighter. "No," he smiled, and Clark's heart thudded. "I feel like I already know you so well, between Clark's stories and our phone conversations. Really, there's no need to be shy."

"W…what?" One of the reasons Clark had been so mystified by this turn of the date was because he couldn't imagine _Bruce Wayne_ meeting anyone's parents. From eight on, the closest thing he's had to a parent was someone he paid.

But then, Clark thought, the closest thing Bruce had to a parent was someone he paid. This show of maternal affection was probably the first in twenty five years that he'd experienced. With a stab of realization that Bruce felt _comfortable_ hugging his mom, probably the first maternal figure in ages, Clark smiled sheepishly at Kara.

"So," he said, knowing full well Kara and Ma changed their minds about it every twenty minutes, "what's on the program tonight?"

Martha finally released Bruce with an affectionate pat of his chest, and he colored, remembering himself.

"Princess Bride," Martha said. "Final answer."

"We don't even need the sound!" Kara grinned. "Aunt Martha knows it by heart! Voices and all."

Martha led everyone into the living room. "Oh hush," she said. "We want poor Bruce to like us! Bruce, dear, have you seen the Princess Bride?"

Kara plopped onto the soft, cushy couch and motioned for Clark to sit beside her. The yellow sofa was older than Clark, and laden with several of his mother's warm quilts, and pillows fluffier than they had any right to be, and before them was a coffee table laden with bowls of popcorn, plates of pizza rolls and junk and a remote large enough for Martha's weakening eyes. It was warm and familiar, and Clark tried to bounce his cousin a little when he sat heavily on the couch, patting the empty cushion next to him for Bruce.

"Years ago," Bruce responded, sinking into the cushion beside Clark. His body heat filled Clark with a warm, fuzzy sensation, and Martha sat lightly on the end.

"Oh, you'll love it!" Martha smiled. "It's my second favorite love story in the world!"

Bruce, thankfully, recognized the setup for what it was and responded accordingly. "What's your first?"

"Dad and hers," Clark said with affection.

"It all started with a junker and a race!" Kara added dramatically.

"Jonathan Kent, small town farm boy with big town racing dreams…"

"And Martha Clark, small town farm girl with big town mechanic dreams!"

"ALL right!" Martha said with mock irritation. "Don't make me separate you two!"

Bruce smiled softly. "I'd love to hear it sometime," he said.

Kara made a face. "Clark, your boyfriend's a liar."

 _Boyfriend_? Clark panicked a little, but Bruce was as smooth as ever.

"Clark, your cousin's a cynic." Not an agreement, not a disagreement. A safely tabled topic. Clark breathed a sigh of relief.

Martha patted Bruce's cheek fondly. "I _have_ to have you over for tea one of these days, dear! You're a treat!"

Bruce cleared his throat self-consciously and Clark hurriedly changed the subject to save him from answering. "So! The Princess Bride!"

"Princess Bride!" Kara agreed, pulling a white and red quilt up to her chest, and it was then that Clark remembered his Ma's TV was barely a foot and a half tall, whereas Bruce's _guest_ bedroom had a projector with a six foot display. But as he looked at Bruce to mouth an apology, the billionaire pulled the quilt at their feet up over their shoulders and put a hot hand on the inside of Clark's trembling thigh. Then his thick index finger started tapping rhythmically in Morse.

:Are you alright: he tapped, with a double scratch like an ASL question.

Martha turned on the movie and they all settled into the soft, fluffy couch, and as Buttercup instructed Wesley around the farm, Clark put his large hand on Bruce's hard, warm thigh.

:I didn't think you'd like this: he tapped. :It's nothing like you have at home:

Bruce gave Clark's leg a light squeeze and Clark grinned a warm, silly grin. :If I wanted to stay at home: he tapped, :I'd have cooked:

:Wait, you cook: double scratch.

:I like your family a lot: Bruce tapped. :Don't be so nervous:

Clark sighed happily and shifted his body into Bruce's. :Thank you:

Bruce leaned into Clark and Kara elbowed his ribs playfully, but Clark didn't care if she knew that Bruce's fingers were running down his arm and slowly, one by one, intertwining them with his own. Or that they watched the rest of the movie lie that, hand in happy hand, letting Kara eat all the pizza rolls herself.


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay. Last chapter before My Partner's love. I'm really damn excited to show it to you. It's exactly as dark and sexy and heartbreaking and awesome as I wanted it to be. I'm proud of it, and not just because Batman loses. So. Get ready for the thrilling conclusion.**

 **-Cro**

"You'll call us," Kara whispered in the doorway, "to let us know you got home alright?"

Clark kissed the sleeping woman in Kara's arms on the cheek. "I don't want to wake Ma up. I'll text you."

Kara turned happily to Bruce. "It was great to meet you," she whispered. "Don't be a stranger!"

Bruce nodded politely. "It was a pleasure. Come around to Gotham once in a while, I'd love to have you and Martha for lunch."

"We'll take you up on that," Kara grinned. She shifted her arms and Martha laid her cheek on one of her enormous breasts.

"Fly safe, Kara," Clark said, mussing her short blonde hair a bit.

"You too, cuz." She floated gently to Clark's level and kissed him on the cheek. "Gotham's got a cold front coming in tonight, so try to beat it, okay?"

"Would you tell your aunt goodbye for me?" Bruce said.

"Will do. Thanks, you two, for coming! It was great to see you! Bye, now!"

Bruce slung a practiced arm around Clark's neck, who picked him up by the legs and shoulders. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Kara!" Clark hovered to the walk and then shot up, careful to stay below the sound barrier so as not to wake his mother.

"That was fun," Bruce said casually as Kansas sped below them.

Clark held Bruce a little tighter. "Thank you," he said lowly. "You didn't have to do this."

Bruce adjusted himself. "Do what," he asked into Clark's neck.

His spine tingled. "Any of this," Clark answered. "You spoiled me tonight. Mini golf, corndogs, movie night with my family? I didn't get to do anything for you!"

Bruce buried his fingers in Clark's hair with one hand and traced the contour of Clark's jaw with the other. "On the contrary," Bruce said with a smirk. "I acted completely selfishly tonight. Everything I did I did so I could watch your face."

Clark blushed. "Next time," he said, "I'm going to spoil you rotten."

"On your budget, I can only think of one way," Bruce teased, and Clark caught his meaning, surprised.

They were a mile over Gotham now. "Should I order you," Clark murmured, "to invite me in?"

Bruce turned Clark's head toward his own. "That's a good start," he whispered onto Clark's lips.

Clark adjusted his hold under Bruce's arm and slipped his other arm to the small of Bruce's back so they were hovering, face to face, waist to waist over Wayne Manor.

…

"They're back!" Flash said, jumping up in the plane. "Wake up, wake up! They're back!"

Around him, his teammates stirred.

"Noooooo," Green Lantern moaned. "Five more minutes…"

"Ugh, who _cares_ ," Wonder Woman groaned. "We already know it's Bruce Wayne, why are we still stalking them?"

Hawk Girl snored and adjusted her position in the copilot's seat.

"To mess with Superman!" Flash cackled. "Let's mess with him!"

"All in favor of messing with Superman?" Wonder Woman asked with a yawn.

"Me! Me mememememememememe!"

"All in favor of going home and sleeping?"

Every other sleepy hand shot up. "Aye," they said in unison.

"Motion passes. Flash, sit down, or Athena help me I will _make_ you sit down."

…

Meanwhile, Clark pressed his lips to Bruce's. "Invite me in," he purred.

Bruce tugged Clark's hair. "Make me," he whispered seductively, and Clark kissed him so hard his toes curled. Actually curled.

…

An hour later, Clark opened Bruce's bedroom window and stepped one foot out onto the roof. He looked lovingly back to Bruce's limp, relaxed body. Clark had pulled the heavy comforter over his shoulders and his arms were buried under his pillow. His chest rose and fell deeply and evenly.

Clark smiled. His mouth still tasted like heat and salt and earth and love, and the image of Bruce writhing under his touch was still burned into his eyes, his muffled cries into Clark's ears.

Bruce stirred. "How," he breathed, "the _fuck_."

Clark climbed back in and walked to Bruce's side. "Go to sleep," he whispered.

"I can't feel my legs," Bruce murmured. "Goddamn, Clark, _how_ did you get so good at that?"

Clark traced his fingers over Bruce's leg through the blanket and Bruce gasped.

"You can feel your legs just fine," Clark whispered. "Don't be so dramatic."

Bruce turned his head to face Clark. "Stay."

But the memory of Bruce's panting, moaning, beautiful face disturbed Clark. He'd been overcome by a wave of something red and furious and bloodthirsty then, and though Bruce called him a tease for pulling away and forcing the feeling down with a gasp of pain, that hunter in him had been awakened, and was pacing back and forth under his skin.

With Lana, with Lois, he had never felt that burning, anxious, _hungry_ urge before, and he knew better than to trust it; whenever his body invented a new sensation, it took practice to learn how to control it. Even now, he adopted a cool façade to keep that blood-filled feeling at bay.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Clark smiled gently. He kissed Bruce chastely on the lips. "Go to sleep."

Bruce's eyes fluttered, as if he wanted to fight Clark on that but didn't have an ounce of strength left in his body.

Satisfied, Clark climbed back out of the window and almost didn't hear Bruce's sleepy tease.

"Goodnight," Bruce breathed, " _boyfriend_ ," and Clark smiled all the way back to metropolis.

 **Aw, how cute! Now let's destroy it. My Partner's Love is coming up next!**


End file.
